During much of the weekend, ESPN’s cameras were drawn to Flames head coach and USA Softball Hall of Famer Dot Richardson, the team’s top power hitter Rachel Roupe and ace pitcher Elena Escobar.

But often, during breaks in the action, quick scans of the Liberty dugout would find 2020 Frewsburg Central School graduate Caleb Carr on the broadcast.

“There are a lot of roles I’ve taken on. I do all the physical side of coaching, hit fungos, set up practice, and off-the-field duties like stats for hitting and defense; equipment, bats, helmets, gloves; and Pitchcom — making sure that’s good,” Carr said Wednesday evening while sitting through a layover at the Denver airport on his way to Eugene, Oregon, for this weekend’s super regional. “This year we’ve had as many as 10 managers, so I handled them, kind of a liaison between them and the coaches.”

Carr is the Flames’ head graduate assistant and carries out any task he can to help the team. He graduated from Liberty with his bachelor’s of business administration in the spring of 2023. Carr recently completed his master’s degree in business administration.

2020 Frewsburg graduate Caleb Carr holds the Conference USA championship trophy alongside Liberty softball coach Dot Richardson, second from left, and his parents, Christine and Curtis Carr, after the Flames won the conference tournament earlier this month in Bowling Green, Ky. Submitted photo

He started in his role with the softball team in 2022.

“I’m in the dugout, doing quality at-bat charts, bat boy stuff, taking care of the girls’ EvoShields, and working with our hitting coach trying to find ways to pick up the other pitcher,” said Carr, whose sister Rachael graduated from Liberty in 2022 and whose younger brother Zach just finished his sophomore year at the school.

“Defensively, I make sure Pitchcom is working properly and at home I’m the ball boy loading up the umpire.”

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Carr, being 22 years old, had never heard of Richardson when he arrived at Liberty.

Caleb Carr Submitted photo

“Coming to Liberty I knew nothing about her,” Carr admitted. “I was very uncultured in the softball world, but it became pretty prevalent.”

The now-63-year-old coach was hired in 2013 to guide the Flames program. Her resume speaks for itself:

≤ NCAA Player of the Decade (1980s)

≤ 1996 Amateur Athletic Foundation Athlete of the Year

≤ 1996 UCLA Hall of Fame inductee

Caleb Carr Submitted photo

≤ 1997 Babe Zaharias Award (Female Athlete of the Year)

≤ 1998 Sports Legends Award

≤ two-time Olympic gold medalist

“She’s a fiery and joyful person. It’s an honor to be a part of a program that she took over in 2013,” Carr said. ” … Her husband (Bob Pinto) has become a role model and mentor in my life too. It’s just a big family.”

Carr has since gotten to know Richardson and the rest of the coaching staff: associate head coach Kasey Fagan, assistant coach Sami Fagan, assistant coach Emily Kirby, director of softball operations Haley Sampson and softball director of player development and analytics Jordan Heslop, on a much more personal level.

“Our associate head coach and assistant coach have become very close friends. I got to go to Sami’s wedding,” Carr said. “It’s just become such a family. It’s more than what we do on the field and at practice, It’s the people I spend my free time with at the same time.”

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Carr has been traveling with the team for the past three seasons.

In 2023, that included a February trip to the Mark Campbell Collegiate Invitational in Irvine, California; the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge in Mexico; the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament in DeLand, Florida; and the Los Angeles Regional in California.

“I have seen so many parts of this country that I never thought I would see. Traveling is the payoff, but it’s kind of exhausting,” Carr said. “These girls are fun to travel with and being friends with the coaching staff has been fun.”

Last spring, the Flames competed in the NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Florida; THE Spring Games in Leesburg, Florida; the Oklahoma Tournament in Norman, Oklahoma; the Conference USA Tournament in Las Cruces, New Mexico; and the NCAA Tournament in Athens, Georgia.

“We’ve had rough experiences like getting stranded and other flight problems,” said Carr, who calculated the team traveled roughly 18,000 miles through 15 different airports, and stayed in 13 hotels a total of 41 nights last season. “Seeing these stadiums and these programs, we probably have one of the best facilities in the nation. We beat out a lot of Power 4 facilities by a longshot.”

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This year, Liberty again competed in THE Spring Games and the Shriners Children’s Clearwater Invitational as well as the Conference USA Tournament, this time in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

After winning the conference tournament, the Flames earned a spot in the Bryan-College Station Regional, which included Marist, St. Francis (Pa.) and host Texas A&M, the No. 1 team in the country.

“Going into the weekend, at the selection show, we heard our name called; no one expected us to go to the No. 1 in the nation,” Carr said. “We definitely knew we were the second seed for sure. There was no doubt, if you watched the girls reaction, it was like ‘Wow’ this is it. We knew we could do it.”

After beating Marist 10-5 last Friday, Liberty beat Texas A&M in shocking fashion 8-5 last Saturday.

“We trusted that the Lord’s purpose and plan was so much bigger than they could see. From the get-go that was just the vibe,” Carr said. “It didn’t feel like a normal regional. We’d been to three regionals, UCLA two years ago and Georgia last year. They played with so much freedom and resilience through preparation and faith.”

That win meant the Aggies had to beat the Flames twice on Sunday to win the regional.

“They knew their skills and hard work would be on display. You saw it in the biggest way possible — 518,000 viewers (on ESPN) led all the regionals in the country,” Carr said. “We knew Texas A&M had a great season. It was kind of sad that they got our draw with the season they had. They didn’t deserve a team like us. Going into the first game the girls were definitely nervous.”

Texas A&M came from behind to win the first game 14-11 in eight innings, setting up a winner-take-all Game 2 just a few hours later.

“Going into that first game Sunday, I don’t think any of us expected to go up 6-0,” Carr said. “Blowing that lead was kind of tough.”

The Aggies actually jumped ahead 3-0 through four innings of the seven-inning Game 2 and seemed to be on their way to a victory. But Liberty got a run in the top of the fifth inning and then exploded for a five-run top of the sixth inning to take a 6-3 lead. Savannah Jessee homered to tie the game 3-3 and three batters later Roupe hit a three-run blast to make it 6-3.

“Going into the second game, it was like ‘We can do this.’ … The girls were exhausted. … Our ace pitcher had thrown 300 pitches in the conference tournament and 400 this past weekend. She’s so resilient through injuries,” Carr said of Escobar. “Going into that second game, that atmosphere was unlike any I’d ever been a part of.”

The Aggies responded with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, but with runners on first and second in the bottom of the seventh, Flames reliever Kaylan Yoder struck out Kramer Eschete to punch Liberty’s ticket to this weekend’s super regional.

“For the program to get over the hump, our first super regional ever, it’s bittersweet that this could be my last year,” Carr said. “You can see the program’s growth. Even in the last four days, the outreach of support, the program has grown. We are on the map, if we weren’t already.”

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The Flames will match up with the University of Oregon Ducks in a best-of-three series this weekend. Game 1 will start at 10 p.m. EST today and will be aired on ESPNU. Game 2 is set for 7 p.m. Saturday with an if-necessary Game 3 on Sunday.

“It’s a different experience than the regular season; it’s new and different. The job stays the same, but the stress goes up … it’s more stressful in the dugout than it is to play,” Carr said of the postseason. “We’ve done everything we can, they just have to go out and do it. The postseason is so rewarding to see the girls trust in the Lord and see their work throughout the season pay off.”

The winner this weekend will advance to the Women’s College World Series, which will be held Thursday, May 29 through Friday, June 6 in Oklahoma City.

“All of the girls have stepped up huge. It’s a culture that Dot and our coaches have built. We’re one and we play for a bigger purpose,” Carr said. “They are united in their faith and giving the glory to God is a huge testament to our success. This team is tighter than any team I’ve been a part of.”